Gas turbine engines, such as those which power modern commercial and military aircraft, generally include a compressor for pressurizing an airflow, a combustor for burning a hydrocarbon fuel in the presence of the pressurized air, and a turbine for extracting energy from the resultant combustion gases. The combustor generally includes radially spaced inner and outer liners that define an annular combustion chamber therebetween. Arrays of circumferentially distributed combustion air holes penetrate multiple axial locations along each liner to radially admit the pressurized air into the combustion chamber. A plurality of circumferentially distributed nozzles project into a forward section of the combustion chamber through a respective nozzle guide to supply the fuel to be mixed with the pressurized air.
It remains desirable for gas turbine engine manufacturers to develop combustor configurations that reduce emissions and noise with improved operational efficiencies.